![]() | Member's News | No.51 September 2007 |
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If Special Olympics supporter Nelson Mandela was correct when he said
that “a nation should not be judged by the way it treats its highest
members, but its lowest”, then Special Olympics Africa is surely
in the process of building better nations on the continent.
Founded in 1968 by Eunice Kennedy Shriver, Special Olympics offers
individuals with an intellectual disability an opportunity to excel
and be praised for their numerous abilities. From the 1000 athletes
who competed at the first World Summer Games between the United States
and Canada, Special Olympics now boasts over 2.5 million athletes in
157 countries and this years’ Special Olympics World Summer Games
in Shanghai, China will once again be the world’s largest sporting
event of the year. Special Olympics
Special Olympics was founded on the conspicuous disparity in our communities
– those that benefit the most from physical exercise and social
interaction are the same individuals who barely see a football, never
mind get picked for a team. The same individuals who struggle the most
to learn are the ones who only get taught to stay at home.
It was based on these principles that Special Olympics developed a
year round program of various Olympic summer and winter sports in which
children and adults with an intellectual disability could train and
compete. Through sports, these athletes are given an opportunity to
improve their physical fitness, participate in the sharing of friendships
and ultimately create a platform where family members, volunteers and
the community at large can openly marvel at their outstanding abilities
and courage.
The World Health Organization estimates that the percentage of individuals
with an intellectual disability in any given society varies between
1% and 3% [1] illustrating that Special Olympics’ achievement
thus far is merely the tip of the ice berg with the largest portion
being those individuals who are deprived of any form of special education
and remain submerged by the shame of their families.
As an athlete-led and athlete-focused organization, the quality of
the athlete experience at the local program level largely determines
the success of the movement. Approximately one volunteer coach is available
to every 13 Special Olympics athletes [2] and ¾ of all athletes
competed at least once in 2006 whilst many programs offer their athletes
over 3 competition experiences per year as a means of retaining athletes
within the program. The highlight of the Special Olympics calendar is
surely the biennial Special Olympics World Games, however on any given
day, an average of 60 Special Olympics competitions take place around
the world and bring joy and pride to the athletes involved.
Although 26 different summer and winter sporting
codes are on offer, athletics, football, table tennis, basketball, bowling
and aquatics remain the most popular with 84% of all athletes participating
in one or more of these 6 sporting codes. ![]()
Sports within Special Olympics are unique in that they cater for all
levels of skill and ability and reward all athletes according to their
position rather than only highlighting the 3 top finishers. In all sports,
the highest levels are those in which national or international federation
rules are applied and the lowest level being that of the individual
skills contest where an athlete gains points for the skill shown in
completing skills necessary for that particular sport. Similarly, various
levels of competition bridge these 2 scenarios such that each athlete
is always afforded a competition level equivalent to his or her ability
level.
In addition, Special Olympics offers a divisioning process to further
enhance the competition experience for the athlete. Classification systems
used by bodies such as the International Paralympic Committee could
not be replicated firstly because only a small minority of Special Olympics
athletes present with physical disabilities too, but mostly because
one can not draw a parallel between intellectual capacity and sporting
capacity in the way that one can between physical capacity and sporting
capacity. For this reason, athletes are divided by gender, age and then
their speed or sporting skill such that they are only grouped or divisioned
to compete against other athletes of a similar prowess. This process
ensures that each race and game demonstrates stiff competition, but
more importantly, it ensures that even those athletes of a lower ability
level are afforded an opportunity to compete and win at a local, national
and international level as winners of each division are reserved the
right to advance to the next level of competition.
Special Olympics has historically only catered for those athletes from
the age of 8 upwards, but the request for athletes to become involved
in their formative years has seen the development of a Young Athlete
program in which those between the ages of 2 and 7 are involved in play
activities as a precursor to sporting skill development. These athletes,
along with those involved in the Motor Activity Training Program (MATP)
engage in training, but not competitions. MATP is a program of physically
adapted sports skills targeted at those with a profound disability who
are unable to manage in the individual sports skills arena.
Special Olympics in Africa
With the globe divided in to 7 geographic regions, Special Olympics
Africa comprises largely of sub Saharan Africa and is home to 32 active
national programs. These programs are supported by a regional office
based in Johannesburg, South Africa and staff located throughout the
region.
Founded in 1979, Kenya is the oldest program in Africa and also the
largest with 21 523 athletes. In second place is Special Olympics South
Africa with 16 217 athletes, together accounting for almost half of
the athletes in the region. The Special Olympics Africa program has
grown considerably over the last 7 years with a total athlete count
in 2000 of just on 4000 athletes to a closing total in 2006 of 81 884
athletes. It is expected that by 2010, the region will provide trainings
and competitions to in excess of 140 000 Special Olympics athletes in
over 35 countries.
Table 1: 2004-2006 Athlete growth by region [2]
![]() In 2006, the Program in Austria lost many registered athletes and participants
due to closings of special schools and centers – making the overall
growth of the region appear stagnant. However, if Austria is excluded,
the Europe/Eurasia region grew by almost 10%.
Economic and political stability are the greatest challenges in ensuring
a vibrant and sustainable Special Olympics program in the region, whilst
poor social services and educational structures for the disabled compromise
program growth. The effect of myths and attitudes around individuals
with an intellectual disability cannot be overlooked and the prevalence
of intellectual disability being attributed to a curse or a failure
on the part of the mother are more significant than those being attributed
to their genetic or disease related cause.
Despite these challenges and through the identification of proficient
leaders, all the programs in the region are growing steadily and making
significant in-roads in changing the perception towards individuals
with an intellectual disability. Family members are now coming out in
support of their athletes as they compete in public arenas with pride.
Special Olympics programs are governed by a Board of Directors and
as non-profit and non-governmental organizations, they remain independent
to the Ministries of Sport but in most cases, programs form strong partnerships
with all relevant government departments in order to facilitate growth
and sustainability.
Healthy Athletes
The causes of intellectual disability are widespread and may be subject
to pre-natal, natal or post-natal factors. Causes of intellectual disability
do not vary significantly from region to region, however the percentage
that can be attributed to preventable causes such as childhood illnesses
or laboured births is certainly more significant in Africa. In some
cases, individuals with an intellectual disability present with myriad
anomalies as a result of syndromes and this affect on their health directly
affects their involvement in sport and thus Special Olympics.
For this reason and coupled with the knowledge that Special Olympics
athletes consistently receive less health care attention than the rest
of the population [3], a Healthy Athletes program was initiated to begin
to address these factors.
On enrolling in Special Olympics a new athlete must undergo a physical
examination to ensure that they are physically fit to partake in the
program and that sport will in fact not be putting them at further risk
such as an athlete with uncontrolled epilepsy partaking in aquatics.
In Africa, the cost of being assessed by a general practitioner and
the unwillingness of general practitioners to assess individuals with
an intellectual disability remain an obstacle. The training of General
Practitioners as national Clinical Directors by Special Olympics has
gone a long way to alleviate this problem as these clinical directors
conduct 1 or 2 day MedFest screenings in which new athletes may attend
a Special Olympics event and receive a medical check up free of charge
by local volunteer medical professionals.
Similarly, various other Healthy Athletes disciplines were initiated
and include the delivery of specialist screening services to the athletes
at sports events. These include the Special Olympics Lions Clubs International
Opening Eyes program (vision care professionals); Special Smiles (dental
professionals); Healthy Hearing (audiology professionals); FUNfitness
(physical therapists); FitFeet (chiropodists) and Health Promotion (various
health care workers).
Combinations of these Healthy Athletes disciplines are offered in 22
of the programs in the region, ensuring that athletes not only receive
screening, but also facilitated treatment such as the provision of prescription
glasses or referral for follow up care where necessary. Inclusion and Empowerment
The readiness to use sport as a tool for social change is certainly
not unique to Special Olympics, but is a large part of the movement
that is addressing some of the challenges faced by individuals with
an intellectual disability in our communities today. The provision of
the Special Olympics Get Into It curriculum to mainstream and inclusive
schools fosters a greater understanding and involvement with Special
Olympics athletes while the Unified Sports program remains the most
effective tool to integration as teams are made up of equal numbers
of Special Olympics and mainstream athletes.
The Athlete Leadership Program (ALPs) is not so much an initiative
as a philosophy that is integrated into all aspects of the Special Olympics
movement. With training and encouragement, Special Olympics athletes
take up positions such as Global Messengers in which they advocate for
the program at public forums; athlete representatives in which they
form councils and influence rules and criteria applied in Special Olympics;
sports related positions such as coach, official or event volunteer
and governance such as the position of Board member that each program
reserves for an athlete. Key partnerships
In 2006, Special Olympics Africa teamed up with FIFA to ensure that
the game of football reaches a greater number of athletes in 3 selected
programs, namely Botswana, Namibia and Tanzania. Working hand in hand
with local football federations to ensure that coaches are adequately
trained resulted in a further 750 athletes being involved in this popular
sport. The success of this pilot saw the Football for Hope project expand
to a further 7 programs and today over 3000 athletes have benefited
from this unique partnership. Furthermore, the project incorporates
the Healthy Athletes program, so not only do the athletes benefit on
the field, but off the field the athletes are provided with free medical
screening.
Special Olympics Africa is continuing to work closely with allied sport
and development organizations to develop partnerships that ensure that
Special Olympics athletes in the region deservedly benefit from the
aid and resources that are already reaching the continent. Vision 2010
Special Olympics Africa currently accounts for only 3% of Special Olympics
athletes worldwide, however this figure is set to reach 4.5% by 2010
as the global movement reaches out to 3 million athletes. The athlete
growth will be coupled with growth in the number of trained coaches
and volunteers and a focus on local program development to ensure that
each athlete receives a minimum of 3 competition opportunities per year.
On the back of poor health services and widespread epidemics, Special
Olympics Africa expects to deliver health screening services to 20%
of the 140 000 projected athletes and use this unique tool to improve
awareness around people with intellectual disabilities and their health
needs.
This focus will be extended to national governments and international
development agencies to ensure that the needs of intellectual disabilities
both register on their radar and are addressed in their programs.
Many athletes testify to the fact that their lives have literally been
turned around through their involvement in Special Olympics. The same
is slowly becoming true for whole communities and even countries that
have embraced the Special Olympics movement and it is projected that
through highlighting these positive testimonials, that the stigma around
intellectual disability will progressively be dissolved and more families
will bring their athletes forward to celebrate their abilities rather
than shame their disability. In conclusion
Today, at 60 different local Special Olympics competitions the world
over, athletes are repeating the words the gladiators first used when
they entered the arena “Let me win. But if I cannot win, let me
be brave in the attempt.” And so beyond sport and disability and
health and inclusion, Special Olympics is about being brave. Brave enough
to change humanity. References
[1.] World Health Organization, 2001 World Health
Report, Mental Health: New Understanding, New Hope, (http://www.who.int/whr/2001/en/index.html),
2001.
[2.] Special Olympics Inc., Special Olympics 2006 Census Report (Internal).
(Washington, DC: Special Olympics Inc., 2007)
[3.] Sarah M. Horwitz, Bonnie D. Kerker, Pamela L. Owens, Edward Zigler,
The Health Status and needs of Individuals with Mental Retardation.
(Connecticut: Yale University, 2000), 135-153. Contact
Dr John Dow Jr
Managing Director Special Olympics Africa Washington, DC. USA Email: jdow@specialolympics.org ![]() http://www.icsspe.org/portal/index.php?w=1&z=5 |